Davee Center

Studying the Fundamentals of Animal Health

Funded by a generous gift from the Davee Foundation, the Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology studies the spread of disease and stress and reproductive hormone levels in zoo and wild populations, gathering valuable information to improve animal care and conservation.

Related Projects

Measuring Stress in Wild Species
By using non-invasive methods to monitor stress hormones, zoo scientists can improve animal conservation and care both at the zoo and around the globe.

Timing Animal Reproductive Cycles
By measuring testosterone, estrogen and progesterone over time—the same hormones that guide reproduction in humans—endocrinologists can gain insight into animal reproductive cycles.

Conserving the Black-Footed Ferret
Thought to be extinct, the black-footed ferret was rediscovered 30 years ago, starting a recovery program that's reintroduced 2,000 individuals back to the wild. Now a special partnership between Lincoln Park Zoo and Montana’s Northern Cheyenne Reservation is advancing efforts to bring the species back from the brink.